Seized anti-Erdogan paper toes Turkey government line in latest edition

“The Sunday edition was not produced by Zaman’s staff,” one of the newspaper’s journalists said days after the Turkish police raided the newspaper's offices in Istanbul.

A photo taken on March 6, 2016 shows the front page of the first new edition of the Turkish daily newspaper Zaman, which had staunchly opposed the president until its seizure by government authoritiesShow more

Ankara // Turkey’s biggest-selling newspaper which had staunchly opposed president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was full of articles supporting the government in its Sunday edition, the first since it was seized by authorities.

The top story on Zaman's front page was about a US$3 billion (Dh11bn) government project to build a third bridge between the Asian and European sides of Istanbul. A photo of Mr Erdogan holding the hand of an elderly woman was placed prominently along with an article about the president hosting a reception for women's day.

Like traditionally pro-government newspapers, the front page also carried photos of the funerals of “martyrs” killed in military clashes with Kurdish rebels in the south-east.

"The Sunday edition was not produced by Zaman's staff," one of the newspaper's journalists said.

Turkish police raided the Zaman offices in Istanbul on Friday to impose a court order placing the media business under administration.

With an estimated circulation of 650,000, the newspaper has been closely affiliated with Mr Erdogan’s enemy, exiled Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen.

Ankara accuses Mr Gulen, who lives in the United States, of seeking to overthrow the government by using his influence in the police and judiciary, as well as media and financial interests.

In its last edition before confiscation, the newspaper warned of the “darkest days” in the history of the Turkish press, and on Saturday police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse a group of the paper’s supporters outside its offices.

The new administration appointed by the court abolished the contract of the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Abdulhamit Bilici, on Saturday.

Critics say the takover was aimed at eradicating opposition media in the country

The government has denied any interference in the paper’s confiscation, with prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu calling it a “legal process”.

“There are many media outlets in Turkey that criticise our government. None of them are subjected to legal procedures,” Mr Davutoglu told the A Haber television station on Sunday.

“But what’s in question here is not merely a press activity but rather an operation targeting a legitimate government that came to power with popular support,” he said referring to Gulen loyalists.

* Agence France-Presse